REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT SIGNING CEREMONY FOR THE
LOBBYING DISCLOSURE ACT OF 1995
The Roosevelt Room

10:09 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
Today, after two decades of gridlock, I am very proud to be able to
sign this legislation to bring lobbying in Washington into the
sunlight of public scrutiny.

Last year when lobbying reform legislation was
filibustered to death, there were lobbyists crowded outside the
Senate Chamber who literally cheered. Today, I sign that bill into
law. And that's something for the American people to cheer about.

I want to begin by thanking those whose efforts made
this possible. And their efforts were constant, longstanding and
carried on, I might add, from time to time under great duress.

First, let me say I believe this new law to bring
lobbying into the open would never have happened without the
leadership of Senator Carl Levin. The first conversation that he and
I had after I was elected President was about this legislation, and
therefore in a very real sense this lobby reform law is a monument to
the years and years of effort that Carl Levin has made. And I thank
you, Senator, for that.

There were many, many other members of Congress in both
parties who played a pivotal role in enacting this needed reform.
Many of them are here today, and I want to thank them. I want to
thank Senator Cohen and Senator Wellstone. And I want to thank
Congressman Bryant, Congressman Canady, Congressman Frank,
Congressman Fazio, Congressman McHale, Congressman Chris Shays,
Congressman Goss, Congressman Doggett, and Congressman Barrett who
was not able to be here today.

On this matter, Democrats and Republicans acted together
to put the public interest before partisanship. And they faced
withering pressure to do otherwise. This law is also a testament to
the thousands of citizens who were members of groups lobbying for
this -- members of Common Cause, Public Citizen, and many other
groups -- who have sought to make real the promise of our democracy.
It is also, frankly, a testament to the efforts of thousands of
citizens who belong to no particular group, but who showed up at town
meetings that these members and others had all across our country.
They were Republicans and Democrats and independents, people who
wanted this kind of change, real change, for a very, very long time.

Lobbying has its rightful place in our system. I
believe every member here and every member who voted for this bill
understands that and understands what a valuable role lobbying can
play in the American system. At one time or another, just about
every American citizen has wanted to be a lobbyist before the
Congress on one issue or another.

But ordinary Americans also understand that organized
interests too often can hold too much sway in the halls of power.
They know that in Washington an influence industry too often operates
in secret and gets special privileges not available to most
Americans. Lobbyists in the back room secretly rewriting laws and
looking for loopholes do not have a place in our democracy. All the
people should know what is done by people who affect public
decisions.

I ran for President in large measure to renew our
democracy, to give ordinary Americans a greater stake in our
government. I strongly called for reform measures, including this
bill, from the very beginning. Shortly after I took office, I
implemented the toughest ethics code on executive officials in our
history, barring senior appointees from lobbying their own agencies
for five years after leaving office and from ever lobbying for
foreign governments. We repealed the tax loophole that lobbyists
deduct the cost of their activities and enacted the motor voter bill
which will add millions of new voters to the rolls.

Until today, the rules governing lobbyists, virtually
unchanged since 1946, have been more of a loophole than a law. For
the first time this new law requires professional lobbyists to
disclose publicly who they are, for whom they work, what they're
spending, and what bills they're trying to pass, kill or amend. The
bill is tough. It will pull back the curtains from the world of
Washington lobbying. It will help to restore the trust of the
American people in their government. It is a good bill for America.

At the outset of this year, I asked the Congress to take
four major steps toward political reform. First, I asked them to
apply to themselves the laws that they pass governing the rest of
America. Congress took this step, thanks to the hard work of many
lawmakers here today.

Second, I asked the Congress to give up gifts, meals and
trips from lobbyists. Earlier this year, Congress agreed to that,
and I applaud them for that.

Thirdly, I asked Congress to enact strong lobbying
disclosure. Shortly, I will sign that bill into law. And I think it
is fair to say, thanks to the efforts of these gentlemen and others,
that bill is much stronger than most people ever dreamed would pass
the United States Congress.

Fourth, I asked the Congress to reduce the influence of
money on elections. And though Congress still has not acted, there
is sign of hope here as well. Truly, bipartisan legislation is now
moving forward in both the Senate and the House to limit spending,
curb PACs and lobbyists, provide free TV time for candidates and end
the soft money system -- proposals virtually identical to the ones I
advocated in 1992. They are real reform. And I look forward to
working with lawmakers from both parties in the months ahead to
quickly enact campaign finance reform as well.

For now, let us recognize and appreciate the significant
step being taken today. This law says the days of secret lobbying
are over. Throughout our history, the people of our country have
fought to make the government heed their voice. This new law is in
the best tradition of America -- one articulated by President Andrew
Jackson a long time ago, "Equal opportunity for all; special
privileges for none."

Thank you very much, all of you. (Applause.)

(The bill is signed.)

Q -- get a CR today? Do you think you're going to get
a CR before Christmas?

THE PRESIDENT: I certainly hope so. We're going to
have a meeting this afternoon, and I'm looking forward to it. The
Speaker and Senator Dole are coming over, and then we'll have some
more meetings. And I hope we can work it out.

If you look at this legislation, this is an example of
what we can do if we can focus on one goal and determine to achieve
that goal and bridge our other differences. And I believe that about
80 percent of both Houses in Congress, maybe even more, would like to
pass a seven-year balanced budget that has real credibility with the
financial markets that would keep interest rates coming down, keep
home mortgages being refinanced, keep investment flowing into the
country to keep this economy going.

Q -- won't agree to your conditions.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, you don't know that. We'll see.
We're going to keep talking. We've worked hard. I've worked hard.
I worked all last weekend on this budget to do everything I can to
pass a budget that is consistent. I even got -- I gave this to all
our folks today to make sure that they would read and reread this
--the actual language of the last continuing resolution. And so
we're working on it very hard.

Q -- you said that in this bill the Democrats and
Republicans put partisan considerations aside and worked for the
public interest. Do you feel that the White House and the
Republicans can do that now on the budget?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. It's more difficult because there
are 80 or 90 issues -- policy issues that we have some differences
on. But if we say what our goal is, our goal is to pass a credible
balanced budget plan, recognizing that no one can foresee what will
happen in every year of the next seven years but that a plan that is
passed, that is credible, that is ultimately certified by the
Congressional Budget Office, that the financial markets and the
business community, the ultimate judge of this say, this is a good
plan, this is going to work. That would be a very good thing for
America. I think we can do it.

Q You sound concerned, Mr. President, about the
financial markets -- you brought it up twice this morning. Are you
worried about the hit it took yesterday?

THE PRESIDENT: Not especially. I don't like to comment
on short-term changes in the market. You know, when I ran for
President, I said I thought if we could pass a credible deficit
reduction plan in 1993, we could create over 8 million jobs and we'd
get a stock market of 4,000. I never dreamed it would go to 5,000.
(Laughter.) So the American economy is very strong, very vibrant.
And in an economy with a free market system with this much activity,
there's going to be changes in the market -- you know there are,
always have been, always will be. I don't think we should comment on
that or read too much into it one way or the other.

Q Are you going to sign the securities litigation
reform, Mr. President?

THE PRESIDENT: Let me say that since last week, I have
spent several hours on that. I believe that some legislative
activity there is warranted, and I'm going to have a final review
today. Yesterday I had a long meeting and I asked one particular
question and asked it to be researched at some length. I'll have a
meeting later this afternoon, I'll have an announcement sometime
today about it.